


Heartaches comin' on the inside

by Lestradesexwife



Category: Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Established Relationship, Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Fantasy, Inspired by Fanfiction, M/M, Masturbation, Multi, Oral Sex, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, nova prospekt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-21
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2017-12-12 14:06:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/812432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lestradesexwife/pseuds/Lestradesexwife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From Nova Prospekt: When a fire leaves best mates James Bond and Alec Trevelyan living at a hotel, Bond joins the Nova Prospekt hackerspace in hopes of finding not just a workshop but a place to meet and collaborate with brilliant, creative, and innovative thinkers. He never expects the hackerspace’s resident genius, a young man who calls himself Q, to so thoroughly capture his interest — and Alec’s.<br/>--------<br/>This story burned a whole into my brain and lodged itself there. I LOVE it. And the plot bunnies started to multiply. So I present to you a thing. All praise is due to Kryptaria and Bootsnblossoms for the AU, I’m just sticking in my toes. And also to a_xmasmurder and Provocatrixxx without whom I would not have been able to post this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [a_xmasmurder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_xmasmurder/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Nova Prospekt](https://archiveofourown.org/works/776253) by [BootsnBlossoms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BootsnBlossoms/pseuds/BootsnBlossoms), [Kryptaria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kryptaria/pseuds/Kryptaria). 



He was early, his mission had gone painfully well. He’d anticipated at least a week of seduction, whispers in the ear of the genetic engineer that he had been sent to extract. As it was, they had met up at a conference. He’d been posing as a pharma-rep and she’d been presenting. She’d practically dragged him back to her hotel room, they’d had quick (fun) but perfunctory sex. When she had finished she had sat up, pulled a hotel robe around her and said, “Can we leave today?”

Alec was not proud of the sputtering noise that had come out of his mouth. He didn’t ask how she had seen through him, or what she meant. “If you like.”

She had showered, packed up the contents of her room and stood by the door waiting for him. Alec had driven his rental back to the airport, checked her bags and gotten on a commercial flight back to Heathrow. He’d already had a British passport with her picture and a false name printed up amongst his things, and she’d hung off his arm convincingly as his new bride. At Heathrow he’d turned her over to Moneypenny for debriefing, with promises to fill in his own report in the morning. Not that they really needed him to report. He came, he saw, she’d defected. End of story. 

Now he was in a cab, on his way home. He was early, almost a week early, he’d barely left. His phone sat like a spent fuel rod in his pocket. He should call them. He wanted to call them, knew what he would probably walk into if he didn’t call them. He and James had been home for two weeks together before Alec was called out for the scientist. He couldn’t even remember her name; he’d handed her off not half an hour ago and he couldn’t remember her name. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the rain chilled window of the cab. He should go to a hotel, call them in the morning.

He’d never come home this early before; there had been missions aborted before they even left the ground, and other things had gone wrong that kept him away longer than expected, but never before had things gone so right. If he was paranoid, he might have thought things had gone too well, been waiting for the other shoe to drop. He knew he was in a state of almost shock. His mind and body expected a challenge, and the complete lack of one had left him in field mode with nothing to direct himself at.

He laughed, a low dark exhalation of air against the window. He was in field mode, readied for action and yet he hadn’t picked up his mobile and called Q, warned him that he was coming home early. He was self aware enough to know this was a terrible idea. James and Q were expecting him to be gone for several more days, Alec could walk in on them shagging on the kitchen table. 

And he absolutely did not want to cock this up. His relationship with Q was complicated, not least of all by the fact that while he worked, and chatted up his mark, his mind had wandered more than once back to Q. 

The cabbie’s gentle “Here you are, then,” roused him from the constant loop of thought. He automatically fished out his wallet and paid the fare. Shouldering his overnight bag, he ducked out of the cab and splashed across puddles up the walkway of the house James had finally found for them. He exhaled sharply in front of the door. He wasn’t jealous of what he was likely to find behind the door. Q wasn’t his, at least not exclusively. This was better because Q knew, he understood what he and James did and how they did it. And he was fine, so dammit Alec would fine too. Because they were all fine. 

Alec braced himself and turned his key as quietly as he could, sliding into the house and catching the door so that it didn’t make any noise as it closed. The hallway was dark but there was a light on in the sitting room, the glow of which illuminated a trail of clothing along the hall and up the stairs. Not on the kitchen table then, that might have been considered a mercy. Alec pocketed his keys, his fingers twitching with the urge to pick up Q’s jumper off the floor. 

He followed the trail of clothing up the stairs, told himself that he was not sneaking into his own home. He was being respectful, and he had done this before - crept around keeping his presence hidden from innumerable of James’ conquests. That Q was neither a conquest nor solely James’ was something he forced his brain to move past without examining too closely. 

He was thankful that the layout of the house meant he didn’t have to walk past the door to James’ room. He’d laid claim to the room at the front of the house (and the ensuite bathroom.) Between his room and James’s was a room that was officially Q’s, with a bed and all, but had been turned into an electronics workshop/library/office for all three of him. Alec allowed the heavy wood door to swing shut behind him, shutting out the rest of the house. He tossed his bag onto the foot of the bed and toed off his shoes. His jacket was wet, so instead of tossing it on the bed he turned and hung it up on the hook on the door. 

His hands rested against the wood, thinking about the last time he had stood there. Q had been pressed against the door, caged by Alec’s hands on either side of his shoulders. Head tilted back and gaze level, giving Alec his best, ‘go on then, do your worst.’ smirk. 

There was no way for Alec to hear anything going on in James’ room. It changed nothing. He could feel the texture of Q’s skin, hear the soft sound he made when Alec’s fingers tangled in his hair. But the smell in his jacket was not Q’s, it reeked of the too sweet perfume of the mark; some strange woman he couldn’t even remember properly. He pushed off the door, ripping his clothes off as he headed for the shower. It was just work. Q understood and it shouldn’t matter. It didn’t matter, hadn’t in the field. He’d maintained his focus, got the job done and made it home without having to blow anything up - sadly. Maybe that was the problem, maybe he should have gone to the range at MI6 and blown off some of the excess tension.

The ensuite was cool, the chill in the tiles almost sharp against his bare feet. He turned the shower on, just short of painfully hot. He was being ridiculous. Part of his brain acknowledged the chemical soup he was swimming in, edges of danger averted cutting through what he knew to be true. Q... well it was possible that what he and Q had was love.  
Alec was the first to admit that he was not an expert on emotions. In his work, love had always been a liability, which was why this arrangement with James was ideal for both of them. Alec sighed and let the water flow over his back and head. He knew that it was a miracle that Q put up with them. They were the definition of unpredictable, but together they formed something close enough to stable to satisfy Q. Alec’s whole body tensed and then relaxed as the realization hit him that Q was someone that Alec could depend on. Something that he could come home to, which was why coming home this time had triggered all sorts of alpha male possessiveness in Alec. He wanted to come home to Q, and knowing that he couldn’t had thrown him off balance.

He grabbed the shampoo and worked it into his hair. His thought processes were backwards. Q was there for him, just not at this exact moment. Their relationship wasn’t typical, but then again neither was the almost-and-more-than brotherhood that existed between Alec and James. Alec laughed as the hot water washed away the last traces of the job. All three of them were insane, and it was perfect. 

The water was just starting to run cold when he decided he was clean enough. He shut off the water and grabbed a towel, brushing himself dry before hanging the towel back up and padding naked back into his bedroom. He contemplated the discarded clothes scattered across the room before deciding they could wait until after he had slept. Two international flights in less than three days had played havoc with his sleep schedule, although sleep and schedule were not often words he could put together in a sentence.

Alec forced himself to settle in his bed, knowing that sleeping now, in the London night, was the only way to put himself back on something approaching normal rhythms. He shifted onto his side and punched his pillow, he was buzzing with energy and there was no outlet for it. Well that was not entirely true. He should think about something else, he’d seen enough porn in his life. Hell, he had enough porn under his bed. He should fantasize about some random stranger, but the encounter with his mark had left him feeling empty. He allowed himself to remember the last encounter with Q, pressed against the door flushed and needy because Alec had made him that way. His hand slid over his cock as he progressed through the memory, popping open Q’s fly and falling to his knees. He’d laughed as Q had flailed against the door, unable to decide if he wanted to throw his head back or watch as Alec shoved down his pants and licked a stripe up his cock. Q had fisted his hands in his own hair, holding his own head still so he could watch as Alec took him into his mouth. Alec had brought Q right to the edge, had been willing to take him over. 

Q had pushed him back, hard enough that he overbalanced and Alec landed on his arse beside the bed. Then Q had been on top of him, clawed open his fly and pushed his pants and trousers down in one motion. He’d ground down into Alec’s lap and it had been Alec’s turn to throw his head back. He had stretched with one hand under the bed to catch the handle of the box of toys he kept there, the other holding Q’s hip as they rolled their hips together. He pulled the box out until Q saw the edge and leapt for it. Smacking the lid away, he had pulled out condoms and lube. They had conversed at length about condoms, Q hadn’t wanted to use them, but Alec had won out. Even international assassins used protection when having sex with strangers, but condoms failed sometimes. Despite regular trips to medical Alec wasn’t willing to risk bringing something home to Q. He didn’t have to ask, or have a quiet word with James to know the same held true on the other side of Q’s relationship. 

Q had ridden him slowly, on the floor, until they were both panting. Alec’s hand sped on his cock in the here and now, picturing the long line of Q’s body undulating over him. The teasing sight of his nipples, hidden and revealed by the sway of his open shirt, and the wonderfully filthy sound Q made when he slid Alec’s cock over his prostate. Alec moaned, tried to stifle it with his free hand over his mouth, letting his hips rise and fall with the motion of his hand. He cursed, knowing they wouldn’t hear him even if he was shouting. He knew the sounds Q was making now, even though they weren’t travelling down the hall. He clung to the sense memory, but his fantasy shifted, morphed until there was nothing left of his room. 

James and Q were tangled in the sheets of James’ bed. Q’s arms pinned over his head, his wrists caught in James’ hand. There was nothing rough about the way James was holding Q, his other hand supporting Q’s hip as they rolled together. The curve of James’ arse visible through the sheets, muscles flexed slowly with every thrust. One of Q’s legs was free of the sheet and wrapped around James’ hips, his foot flexing and curling as James moved inside him. 

Alec’s cock twitched in his hand, pleasure running through him. Part of his brain protested, suggesting that it was problematic to fantasize about his best friend and their boyfriend. He knew that he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t feel jealous. They were so perfect together. Alec could almost hear the murmur of James’ voice, liquid sound with no discernable words, his face pressed against the angle of Q’s neck. The whisper of fabric over skin as Q arched under James, the tightening of Q’s fingers in the pillow and the strangled nearly horrifying noise Q made as he came, completely lost in his own pleasure. Alec loved that sound, knowing that Q was completely lost to reason and artifice. 

The fantasy, the idea of James pulling that sound from Q, knowing what Q felt like beneath and around him. The idea of that was enough to push Alec over the edge. Pleasure coursed out of him in hot spurts across his chest, through him with a deep satisfied groan. 

His mind supplied him with the image of Q and James tucked together, sated and sleepy. Kisses pressed against fingers and shoulders. Alec let the drag of exhaustion and orgasm pull him down into sleep, a small smile curved onto his lips.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec makes breakfast, and they finally ask Q to move in properly.

They’d rigged the cooktop, James and Q, with a sensor plate in the floor that registered changes in pressure. Once the heat was turned on there had to be pressure and motion on the plate, so Alec couldn’t park something conveniently heavy in front of the cooker and wander off, it had to mimic the shifting of weight and kinetic presence of a human being. Of course it wasn’t like actually being chained to the stove. They had conceded that he would need to be able to move around the kitchen to prepare ingredients, wash his hands and whatnot. So if he wandered off for more than 10 minutes the heat simply shut itself off. Thus ruining the food if he forgot to come back, or was called away, but leaving the kitchen intact.

 

It would then send a text message to James’ phone. Informing Bond that Alec was not paying proper attention. The system had proven itself useful when Q was home alone as well. James and Alec had been in some ridiculously cliched Central American bar, sweating through their lightest suits, and waiting for the world’s most ludicrously named arms dealer when Bond’s phone had chimed, three quick text alerts in a row. They’d been sent over the course of almost an hour, but with the spotty cell reception they all came at once. James had smirked and turned the screen so Alec could see. Alec had smiled around the lip of the beer bottle. James checked something else on the house’s security system and stoppered a laugh, tight and controlled but from the outside the motion of a drunk. Alec had seen the barely contained amusement and the fondness in James’ expression. “He’s coding.”

 

Alec had laughed at that, and washed it down with the last of his warm beer. Flicking his fingers at the bartender for another. He pressed the sweating glass of the new bottle against his forehead, allowed himself to savour the temporary coolness against his skin, “It is a miracle he remembers food at all then.” He’d tease Q mercilessly when they got home, but for now it was an amusing distraction from the tedium of waiting.

 

“Apparently he doesn’t.” James’ voice was soft, “He’s been coding for 11 hours straight. What time is it there?”

 

“Morning, Nova will be open.”

 

James glared at the signal indicator on his phone then pressed the contact information for Nova. “Morning Mr. Seigel, it’s James... Listen, I know you don’t deliver... but I’m out of town, and I just logged onto the home server. Q’s been coding all night. Is there anyone from the space around who could take him some caffeine and food?” He paused, listening to the cafe manager push through the connecting door into the hackerspace. “Sapphire is perfect, she knows the house. You know how he is when he gets going on something. I don’t want him to starve.” He smiled and Alec thought he heard something about the youth of today over the line. “Thanks again, Mr. Seigel.”

 

Alec had opened Q’s secure chat program on his own phone during this exchange. Typed out “ _Three times? I’m impressed. James is sending Sapphire over with coffee. Don’t forget to eat too, just not whatever is on the cooker. It can’t be safe by now._ ” He’d received delivery confirmation but not a response when the arms dealer and his entourage had burst through the door in a pile of ill-advised testerone. 

*******************

 

Alec smiles, shifting his weight on the sensor in front of the cooker, checking the crispness of the bacon. The rent-a-henchmen hadn’t stood a chance, but their numbers were sufficient to have provided something of a challenge. They’d hitched a ride on a cargo plane to get the leader into custody in an extraditable country. The mission so far off the books it makes Alec nostalgic.

 

The familiar stampede that heralds the arrival of Q on the first floor bringing another small smile to Alec’s lips. Q always takes the stairs like they are on fire, pausing in the hall to compose himself before making his entrance. 

 

“You’re home early.” Q pads into the kitchen. Fresh from the shower; his hair barely considered not wet, shirt sticking to his skin where his hair drips, the shirt is loose but only serves to enhance the cut of his boxer briefs. 

 

Alec makes an appreciative noise as Q’s arms wrap around his waist. “Am I?” Carefully ladling batter for his first crepe into the pan, lifting and turning the pan, spreading batter, mindful of Q’s arms around him. “I can leave this and bugger off if you like?” 

 

Q’s arms tighten and he shifts, pushing his nose behind Alec’s ear, “You wouldn’t dare, besides you know I missed you.”

 

“Was only two days, and James was here.”

 

Q pulls back a little, twisting, to regard Alec suspiciously, “You do know it doesn’t work that way right? He’s not a substitute for you, nor you for him.” Q rests his chin on Alec’s shoulder, his voice soft and low, close enough that Alec feels more than hears the words. “You don’t make up one perfect boyfriend... even together you aren’t perfect. Except that you are... both... exactly right for me.” 

 

Alec would be embarrassed except that Q’s hand wanders from his waist, slides under his shirt and starts tracing aimless patterns over his stomach. Alec clears his throat, “Can you pass the flipper thing?” Even he isn’t sure what he means, his brain stuttering to a halt, “шпатель!” 

Q’s lips quirk, pressing into the skin of Alec’s throat, as he hands over the implement. “Sometimes, I forget about that.”

 

Alec manages to flip the crepe without breaking it, shifting it against the pan with the spatula... they are called spatulas aren’t they? He concentrates on the food, waits until Q settles back against him. “I know, I miss you too.” Crepes look impressive, and difficult, but once you have the rhythm down they are simple. He flips and pours until there is a small stack on the warming plate, then he nudges Q towards the coffee press, “Think you can pour?”

 

Q obliges, pouring two cups. One black and one with a nearly obscene amount of sugar already waiting in the bottom. He places the black mug within Alec’s reach and took his own, emblazoned with a large Q  10  and, sipping thoughtfully, walks out into the hallway, “James, Alec is home early, he’s made coffee and breakfast. Come check he hasn’t been body snatched for me?” He calls in the direction of the stairs before returning to Alec’s side and wrapping himself back around Alec’s waist, one arm free to continue to sip at his coffee. 

 

James comes down the stairs at a far more sedate pace, smirking at the sight of Q wrapped around Alec, “Yes, obviously a very dangerous replica.” He ruffles Q’s hair as he passes to pour his own coffee before continuing in Russian, “Everything go according to plan?”

 

Alec grunts, “I’d barely said hello before she defected. We took the first plane home.” He answers in halting Mandarin, they’ve had to be more resourceful since Q started picking up words in Russian. Alec is not thinking about toddlers and parents spelling out secrets. They’d made some inroads towards bringing Q in to work for TSS, Q’s main objection had so far been that he saw enough of them as it is. Alec privately thinks that Q is worried that he would have to wear a tie and sit at a desk all day long. Alec flipped the last crepe onto the plate and shut off the heat to the cooktop. He turns in Q’s embrace and kissed his nose, “Bring the bacon.” Alec carefully balanced the plate of crepes and the sauteed mushrooms and onions on his arm and grabbed his coffee in his other hand. “James, there is a bowl of whipped cream in the fridge, if you would.”

 

They form a little samba line of breakfast preparedness into the dining room. Alec had already set up dishes of cut strawberries and bananas (with a light sprinkle of lemon juice to keep them fresh), a jar of nutella, and one of peanut butter. Some grated cheese and prosciutto rounded out the offerings of their fridge. 

 

Alec set down his dishes, twisting the plate slightly and stabbing the top crepe with a fork from the table. He switches back to English, “It went really well actually, I have to go in later, tie up the paperwork.” He waves his hand, dismissing the mission from his thoughts. “I’ll be gone most of the day, if you’ve got plans.”

 

Q pulls the top crepe free, settling himself into his chair. James and Alec sit at either end of the table, James shakes out a napkin and smoothes it over his lap. Q smiles, clearly eyeing the nutella and whipped cream but he reached for bacon and cheese first, “I was going to go into Nova, Chell and Gordon will have chewed through the locks on the cupboards... or possibly every cable in the house. There is only so much time Sapphire can spend with them.”

 

Alec’s hand hesitates over the bowl of onions, “You didn’t tell him?”

 

“I was waiting for you.” James rolled his first crepe and cut it neatly into bite sized portions, “It was your idea.”

 

“Tell me what?” Q hand pauses with a rolled crepe halfway to his mouth, holding it like a burrito.

 

A lesser man than Alec would flush, he puts down his silverware and turns slightly in his chair to face Q, “James and I think it is time for Chell and Gordon to move in here... that is if they are agreeable?”

 

Q blinks, putting down his crepe and wiping his hands on his napkin. He’d all but moved into the house already. Effectively twice; he has drawers in both Alec and James’ rooms, space in both their closets and duplicated stashes of personal care products in both the main bathroom and in Alec’s ensuite. They haven’t really talked about it, not all three of them together. Alec and James had taken it as given when James found the house, convenient to both Nova and MI-6. Q’s never presumed, is careful about not spending all his time in the house. As though he was going to spook them, when in reality they both want Q to be there when they got home. They try, Alec thinks it is as hard for James as it is for him, not to demand that he always be there. The possessive side of Alec’s brain wanting to demand that Q... wanting him always, needing him to be there, their reason to come home.

 

Alec had brought up the idea of the ferrets one afternoon on the gun range. 

 

“We’d have to childproof everything.” James had said as he pressed the button that brought the target forward.

 

“If it came to the ferrets or us... I don’t like those odds. And he misses them.”

 

James had nodded briskly and put up a fresh target.

 

They haven’t had a chance to discuss it further, Alec was called out to fetch back the genetic engineer, tech with a go bag and orders waited for him outside the range. Kept out on orders from the Quartermaster after an incident with 0011 and an unfortunately timed shout. 

 

“We’d have to childproof everything.” Tentative, as though he’s afraid Alec might rescind the offer at any moment.

 

James chuckles, a drily amused sound that he often substitutes for full gales of laughter, “I bought the locks and cable covers yesterday. Most of the house is already Alec-proof anyway.”

 

Alec tilts his head, a silent ‘yes, very amusing’ in the roll of his eyes. Despite, not because of, the truth of James’ statement, “Only if you want to. We can spend more time at Nova, if it is too soon.”

 

They haven’t been avoiding Nova Prospekt, and the members of the hackerspace aren’t exactly the most judgemental group, but they all have noticed an increase in gossip surrounding their relationship. Which, in turn results, in Alec making fewer visits, leaving the hackerspace to James and Q. Which means that Q spends his nights with Alec at the house, leading to mornings with James and totalling Q not spending enough time with Chell and Gordon. Solution: Alec extending an invitation to two rodents as both olive branch and an acknowledgement that their relationship is more than just fleeting sexual encounters.

 

Q’s mouth quirks up and he ducked his head, letting his fringe spill forward to partially hide his eyes, “I snuck them in while you were away. I wanted to stay here, but it was so quiet with both of you gone. I kept them in the spare room though.” He sounds like he’s been caught sneaking sweets.

 

Alec’s heart kicks, and he looks up at James, the tail end of an expression not unlike being punched in the stomach crosses James’ face. It clears before Q looks up again and Alec leans in, “It isn’t a spare room, Q, it’s yours. If you want it.”

 

Q looks up at Alec, puzzled frown between his brows, “But James bought the house for you...” his head pivots slowly to James, “You bought a house with a room in it for me?”

 

“I did,” James cut a smaller portion off his crepe and moved it slowly to his mouth. He’s deflecting, trying to play down the importance of what he’s done. Alec can see through his facade, and so can Q. Alec is not surprised when Q pours himself into James’ lap, forcing the chair away from the table with a squeal of protest from the hardwood. Alec shifts his attention back to his breakfast, sipping his coffee and resolutely not thinking about his little fantasy from last night. He cuts his crepe in half and sprinkles it with hot sauce before stabbing it with his fork and raising it to his mouth to rip off a piece. Alec eats in silence until Q disentangles himself from James and resumes his seat, the heated expression on both of their faces makes Alec’s cock twitch in sympathy. He drops his eyes back to his plate and let his eyes fall closed, which is spectacularly unhelpful as it merely allows images from last night to play against his eyelids. Q’s fingers brushing against his knee under the table did nothing to help with his predicament but he opens his eyes and smiles at Q, “So is that a yes?”

 

“Yes that’s a yes, did you say you have to go into the office today?”

 

“They are going to call me,” He finishes his crepe and snags another from the pile, this time filling it with nutella and strawberries before rolling it and taking a spoonful of whipped cream from the bowl. He shakes a generous dose of cinnamon sugar over the top and looks back at Q. “What, they are going to call me in?”

 

“You’re going to eat that?” Scandalized and jealous

 

“Yes, I am, because I slaved over a hot stove for _hours_. And when one indulges one should do it well.” He cuts off a piece, makes sure it contains a strawberry and scooped some cream onto it before holding it out to Q.

 

Q tilts his head to the side, watching Alec for what seemed like hours before leaning forward and taking the bite in his mouth. There was nothing seductive in it, except that it was one of the most sexual things Alec had ever seen. Q pulled away and Alec felt the tug of his lips against the fork. 

 

Q smiled as he chewed, making a show of swallowing, “You are right, that is delicious. Make me one?”

 

Alec did flush then, pointing at Q’s plate with his fork, “Finish that first.”

 

Q picked up his bacon and cheese monstrosity and grinned, “Yes, dear,” before biting into it with relish, his tongue flickering along the edges of his lips to catch stray bits of cheese. 

 

Alec and James shared a look, and then studiously applied themselves to their breakfast. Alec made Q a dessert crepe once he had finished his plate and tried not to groan at the theatrics of Q eating an obscene quantity of whipped cream. They sipped coffee and talked about the mundane details of life, enjoying a quiet morning in each other’s company.

 

The phone rang as they were clearing plates, and Bond answered it, “Hello.” A pause, then, “Yes, I’ll tell him. Thank you.” The phone was replaced in the cradle and James turned, “Alec has a dentist appointment at 12:30.”

 

Alec pulled a face, “God I hope they don’t want x-rays, last time I was there for hours.” He checked the clock and finished stacking plates in the dishwasher. “I’d better be off then, traffic will be a nightmare.” He wiped his hands on the dish towel and sighed, “I’ll call you when I am done at the dentist, and I can swing by Nova and help you bring Gordon and Chell home.”

 

The smile Q gave him was worth having to ferret-proof a couple cabinets. Or rather paying whatever bribe he needed to have James do it for him. 

 

He sighed as he climbed the stairs, going back to his room to change and get ready for his “dentist” appointment. Traffic really would be a bitch.


	3. Chapter 3

Alec growled and cursed at his phone; for all that the mission had been a success, the paperwork had been murderous. He’d had to review every detail from several different angles, only on this mission there weren’t any details. He hadn’t done anything, but it didn’t seem to matter. He regretted not shooting out the window of the hotel and scaling down the side of the building with her over his shoulder. At least then he would have had an interesting story to tell.

He sent a text-- not, strictly speaking the call he had promised-- pleading fillings, drills and other macabre dental tortures. He was in the car and barrelling towards Nova before his mobile rang and he told the car to answer it. 

“James said you would be forever. Don’t get caught in the speed traps; I’ll delete the citations, but we could spend our time so much more wisely.” Q’s voice surrounded Alec from the car’s stereo system, soothing the rough edges off his worry and seeping into his bones. He geared the car down and took the next turn at a civil speed. Q purred over the line, “That’s much better. I got Gordon into the carrier but Chell saw it and now she’s hiding. James is trying to coax her out with a mouse... Actually it’s very amusing.”

Alec smiled, a picture of James on hands and knees waving a frozen mouse in an attempt to lure a skittish ferret out of hiding sliding easily into his imagination. 

“I’d have thought just a trail of pellets.” Alec grinned as he navigated around a double-decker bus.

“We tried that, she broke cover to get one and then scooted back into hiding. Just kept filching the first pellet.” Q’s laugh filled the car as James cursed in the background. “She’s got the mouse now. James, just leave her a bit, I’m sure she will come out in her own time. Or to bite Alec.” Chell had never actually bitten Alec, but it was clear that she was much fonder of James. She might come out of hiding just to climb James and turn up her nose at Alec.  

“If not, I’m sure between the two of you you can build a better ferret trap.” Q’s laughter warmed Alec and pushed away all remaining thoughts of the debrief. 

Q kept the line open but he wasn’t speaking to Alec directly; he was making reassuring noises at Gordon. The larger ferret was chittering angrily in the carrier, but as Alec listened he calmed. Q continued to speak calmly, but now in full sentences directed at Alec; “I don’t think they liked coming back here, I think they missed me when I brought them back.”

Alec signaled another turn and marshalled his thoughts, not speaking until he had the car straightened out. “I’m sorry, we should have asked you to bring them over at the beginning. I think we thought you keeping them at Nova meant that... maybe that you wanted to keep your own space. We can be a lot to cope with sometimes, it makes sense that you would want your own flat.”

Q’s sigh surrounded Alec, trailing over Alec’s nerves as though Q was in the car with him. “God, you really should be too much... for anyone to handle. It doesn’t make sense, I don’t think I could cope if it was only one of you. I think... the two of you together... maybe you’re different when you’re working... I don’t think I want to know if you are. Together, here... I think you aren’t saner; this isn’t sane or normal. I think you hold each other together. And I just fit into the spaces between you.”

Alec parked the car, holding his breath for a second before he shut off the engine. “I’m outside, I’ll be up in a minute.”

“Alright.”

The line clicked off. Alec braced his hands against the steering wheel, watching the movement of his knuckles under his skin as his hands flexed. The picture in his mind of what had happened upstairs slid home inside his ribcage, warm and bright. Q speaking to him, but looking at James. James would have been on the floor, trying to coax Chell out of hiding; he’d have been kneeling still, between Q’s knees and the coffee table. His eyes would be so pale blue they’re almost white, watching while Q talks to Alec. Q’s fingers would have brushed against James’ fringe, pretending to pull some lint from his hair, intentional contact and connection. James was unlikely to have pressed forward; Q would have had to draw him in. Alec shuddered, imagining the press of Q’s lips against James’ forehead. He wished, forcefully, that he had been there. That they had had the conversation in person, but he knew that it probably never would have happened if they had both been there. He was profoundly grateful for the space that Q has given them both. Alec heard the words, and James saw everything but didn’t have to reply. 

Alec locked the car and paced around the side of the building; they’d scouted the route that was least likely to draw attention to their comings and goings, aided by the fact that Nova had no windows facing the street except in the cafe proper. The metal of the door was cool as Alec pressed his forehead against it, letting the sensation ground him before he took to the stairs. He was not going to miss these stairs, but he took them fast enough to make it a challenge, to test his muscles against gravity and distance. Not fast enough that he would be gasping for air when he reached Q’s door. 

Q was still terribly lax about home security, at least here. At home he seemed to accept the need for security and counter measures without question. Alec wondered if there was something wrong with him and James... normal people accepted deadbolts and window bars as sufficient protection against intrusion. With a pang Alec realized that Q’s life had been simpler before they had met him. 

Alec opened the door and found James reclined sideways on the sofa, Chell curled over his heart and nearly asleep. Her head moved to track Alec as he entered the room. Q’s head swivelled towards Alec, pressing his finger soundlessly against his lips. Alec caught the door and held it open so that the click of the lock engaging wouldn’t disturb Chell. They all remained frozen until Chell sighed and James brought his hand up to stroke over her ears. He smoothed her fur twice more before shifting his other hand under her and lifting her into the waiting cage. He left his hand under her, letting the warmth of their combined bodies warm the blanket in the bottom of the cage so that the change in temperature did not shock her awake. 

Alec held his breath as Q slid the door shut on Bond’s departing hand, and then returned Q’s triumphant smile. Q shifted forward on the couch and pressed his lips against James’ mouth, a chaste kiss for a job well done. 

Q hoisted the cage, careful to keep it level despite the obvious overbalancing that came from having Gordon on one end and Chell on the other. James smiled up at him. “Call me if they chew through anything serious. I’ll see you when I’m finished here.”

Alec transferred the door to his foot as Q approached with the carrier extended towards him. He held it in both hands, balancing the crate while darting looks between James and Q. “What’s the plan?”

Q stooped to heft a messenger bag over his shoulder. “James is staying here to work on a ‘secret project’, and we’re going to the house to let them loose.” It shouldn’t be possible for someone to make air quotes with their hands full, but Q managed it with his a roll of his shoulders and quirk of his lips. 

James gave Alec a conspiratorial wink, which was wholly unmerited since Alec had no idea what James was working on. Alec estimated weights and opened his mouth to offer to carry the bag as well as the carrier.

“Do. Not,” Q warned. “I have this. Just don’t tilt the carrier.”

Alec shrugged and pushed the door open with his toe. Cocked his head in farewell to James he preceded Q out the door and down the stairs, careful to adjust the carrier so he could see where he was placing his feet as he went.

“All we really need to do when we get home is double check the cables, James did all the cupboards.” Alec could hear Q’s smile in the next words. “He says you owe him a bottle of Scotch. With a Capital S.”

“I’ll add it to my tab.” Alec had lost track of the number of favours that had passed between the two men over the years, but he was fairly certain the balance was in James’ favour. 

As they approached the car Alec shifted his stance, pushing his right hip out towards Q. “Can you get the key?” he asked, struggling to keep his expression neutral and innocent.

Q groaned. “You are incorrigible.” He slid his hand into Alec’s pocket. Alec grinned as Q’s fingers took a scenic detour on their way to the key fob at the bottom of his pocket.

“I’m incorrigible, am I?” It was a rumble, almost a growl, and did nothing whatsoever to discourage Q as he fumbled for the key.

Q found the button that opens the doors inside Alec’s pocket and pressed it with a smirk. Sliding away from Alec just as he leaned in to try to capture Q’s smirk with his lips, Q stashed his bag in the back and settled onto the passenger seat.

“Why doesn’t your car have a back seat again?”

“Back seats are for housewives and accountants... I am a secret agent.” He smiled as he said it and opened the door for Q, holding it as Q settled and got the seat belt around his hips. Alec gently closed the door, fairly surprised that Chell had remained calm for the journey outside.

When he opened his door and climbed in, Q was making reassuring noises and Chell and Gordon were poking their noses through the grate of the cage. There was no way to start the car quietly, but the growl of the engine didn’t seem to bother the ferrets. The drive home was quick, even with Alec taking care to make the ride as smooth as possible. The hardest portion was pulling into the laneway of the house; the car caught on the curb and rocked slightly. Alec winced, but Q managed to settle them by the time Alec shut off the engine. 

Alec resisted the urge to slide over the hood of the car to open Q’s door, and soon enough they were closing the front door of the house behind them, Q keeping up a litany of reassuring sounds as he headed for the stairs. “See, it’s not so bad, you liked it here, remember? And this time it’s for good.” He was definitely speaking into the cage. 

Alec followed slowly up the stairs, closing the door to Q’s room behind them. James had been busy all day; there was a fresh litter pan, and a scattering of toys all over the floor. 

Q dropped to his stomach, staring through the grate of the cage and letting Chell rub against his fingers through the bars. “I’m going to leave them in here tonight... we should let them get used to the space slowly. Once they have the whole house we’ll have to watch the windows and doors.”

“I know. Maybe James can rig up a GPS tracker for them.” 

Q slid the catch open on the door and Chell shot out in a flash of sable fur. Gordon poked his nose out and sniffed the air before slowly creeping out and walking over Q to explore the room.  Q rolled over and held up his hands to Alec. “They’ll be fine in here now.”

Alec stepped over Q and looked down on him, planting his feet on either side of Q’s hips, grasped his hands to lift Q up. They swayed against each other, and Q leaned in, letting Alec wrap him close in his arms. 

“I missed you.” Q spoke into the collar of Alec’s shirt, and Alec pushed aside thoughts of leaving Q behind. He and Bond are always on the verge of leaving Q, but this was about coming home. 

Alec turned his face towards Q’s ear, “Do you want to..” tilting his chin in the direction of Q’s bed. “Or...” He wasn't sure if they should stay with the ferrets, wasn't sure he wanted them watching him for this. 

“Yeah, let’s go. Let them settle.”


	4. Chapter 4

It shouldn’t have felt like escape to close the ferrets in Q’s room, shouldn’t have felt like sneaking away as they tiptoed the distance down the hall to Alec’s room. Q pinned Alec to the door; Alec let himself melt into Q’s embrace, his heart pounding. Q’s lips were demanding, his long fingers pulling at Alec’s tie hard enough to make Alec growl into Q’s mouth. He wanted to help, wanted to do whatever it took to facilitate ending up spread out on his bed under Q. Instead he pulled Q’s hips closer, pushed back into the kiss. He let Q manhandle him out of his shirt, but purposefully kept his elbows bent to make Q work to strip it fully off. He’d tried, in the beginning, to be compliant and helpful. Q had accused Alec of humouring him, so Alec humoured him by letting him work for his conquests. That Q honestly didn’t know he had Alec wrapped around his little finger only tightened the wrapping.

 

Alec dropped his hands to Q’s fly, popping open the button and zip in an economical move. If that motion also served to allow Q to pull off Alec’s sleeves, Q couldn’t complain that Alec was being deliberately passive. 

 

He only realized how far forward he had pushed when Q knocked him back against the door, hands pressed against his abs. Hips rolling up to meet Alec’s, they groaned and Q broke their kiss, a sharp bite into the hollow of Alec’s throat. Alec let his head drop back against the door and his legs fall open slightly in response to Q’s next thrust. He wanted nothing more than to cede control of the proceedings to Q, beg Q to tie his hands over his head with his tie and simply take. Q tilted his head to the side and looked at Alec, and he wondered if he had accidently verbalized his desire. 

 

“God... when I saw you this morning... I... god, you had only been gone two days.” Q twisted and pushed Alec farther into the room towards the bed. “I miss you, and when you leave it’s so _sharp_... fuck... but it sort of _settles_ , and I know you _will_ be back...” Q growled and shoved Alec over onto the bed. “I saw you this morning, and it was like you had never been away... except you were...” Q flinched, pushed Alec’s knees apart and crawled over him. “No, not like that... missing you is good... I miss you.”

 

Alec felt something akin to physical pain, the desire to pull Q closer warring with the need to stretch his arms over his head in surrender. “I miss you too.” He settled for pulling Q closer, grinding their hips together, with one hand and tucking the other behind his head, raising himself up slightly to meet Q’s lips.

 

Alec thought for a moment that Q might pull away, but he slid his hands down over Alec’s stomach and worked at the fly of his trousers. Alec held himself as still as he can, not helping or hindering; he wanted to plead, he wanted this part to be over. He wanted Q to fuck him into the mattress and make him forget that they were ever apart. Q had known all about the work, accepted it before Alec or James even asked. Q knows that they can’t talk about what happens on missions, kisses their bruises and never asked what caused them. Wordless confession, repentance and forgiveness. Alec bucked against Q’s fingers, his inattention rewarded by the discovery of his own nakedness. 

 

Q sighed against Alec’s lips, holding them apart by the space of a breath, “Are you with me?”

 

“Yes... please Q.” Alec shifted, settling Q deeper between his legs, letting his hand drop from Q’s hips. Q’s fingers were unbearably gentle as they brush over Alec’s arms and down over his nipples. 

 

“Why are you still... so many clothes. Please Q.”

 

Q’s weight left him, and he let his eyes slide shut, giving into the urge to slide his other hand under the pillow. Q’s breath caught, the sharp sound turning Alec’s head and drawing his eyes open.

 

“You really aren’t fair. You know that?” Q licked his lips, as though he is trying to taste the words on his tongue. He was standing beside the wardrobe, maddeningly still wearing his pants. Alec wanted to wrap himself around Q’s pale skin and whipcord-lean sleek lines, pull him close and never ever let go.

 

Alec sighed, shifted his hips and slid off the bed, crossing the distance to Q. “You don’t... God, Q.” He pulled Q tight against him, savouring the tangle of sensation that came with the press of skin. Q tilted his head and their lips pressed together.

 

“I missed you,” Alec breathed as they broke apart again, pressed kisses down the length of Q’s neck, one hand tangled in Q’s hair and the other pulling them closer together. “God, please, Q. I want you.”

 

Q made an agreeable noise as Alec pressed a kiss against the hollow spot of Q’s sternum, hands sliding over Q’s back. Alec chased kisses down Q’s stomach, sinking to his knees. 

 

Q’s fingers tangled in Alec’s hair as his lips caught on the fabric of Q’s pants. “ _Alec_.”

 

Alec’s grip tightened on Q’s hips, hooking under the waistband of his pants and pulling them down. Q’s cock sprang free, and Alec groaned, turning his face away and pressing a hard kiss against Q’s hip. “God, I want...” 

 

He pushed and twisted, and Q bounced when he hit the mattress, Alec already pressing close, rummaging with his free hand for the box of condoms under the bed. Q panted above him, half regaining his breath, half reaction to the motion of Alec’s hand over Q’s cock. 

 

Alec used his teeth to open the packet, rolled the condom down over Q without changing the pace of his hand, licked up Q’s cock with the return stroke of his hand and then swallowed Q down to the root. Q’s hips bucked up, pressing against the back of Alec’s throat and making him groan. 

 

“Sorry, _fuck,_ Alec” 

 

Alec lifted Q’s hips, pushing Q deeper into his mouth and swallowing hard. Q’s body twitched under him and his hands dropped to Alec’s head, pulling and pushing. Alec followed Q’s directions, the gentle touches translated into motion of his head, pressure of his tongue, swallows and groans. 

 

Too soon Q pulled him up, dragged Alec’s body up off the floor and over him. “I’m sorry, you have to stop that, or I’ll come.”

 

“That’s the idea, but... I want.” Alec pressed a kiss against Q’s lips, groaned when Q pushed back and grabbed the back of Alec’s head. Q bit Alec’s lip, and Alec opened his mouth, letting Q take control of the kiss. 

 

Several of Alec’s secret agent skills translated well to the bedroom; the slight tension in Q’s muscles twigged in Alec’s awareness and Alec rolled with Q, sighing into the kiss as Q’s weight settled onto him. Alec squirmed, spreading his legs and twitching his hips up, pushing back against Q until he was spread open and pinned down. Q’s hands framed Alec’s face, held him gently still. Alec’s hands pushed up under the pillows, fingers snaking under the edge of the headboard, the sharp line of the unfinished edge providing a delicious counterpoint to the gentle pleasure of Q’s touch.

 

Q was deliberately gentle with him, stroking down Alec’s flank with the lightest brush of fingers, up over the inside of Alec’s thigh to push his leg up higher. Q’s cock slid _over_ Alec’s skin, and no matter how Alec twisted and pushed Q pulls back. 

 

Alec turned his head and regarded Q stoically. “You are actually trying to make me beg, aren’t you?”

 

Q buried his face in the crook of Alec’s neck. “Maybe, a little. Can’t make it too easy for you.”

 

“Please, _please_ Q. I love it when you fuck me... I love you inside me, please Q.” He stretched under Q, using his hips and thighs to work Q closer to him. “ _Please._ ” He tried to keep the real need out of his voice, tried to make it sound light, playful. 

 

Q dragged his lips along Alec’s collarbones, not looking up until he was far enough towards the edge of the bed to reach the nightstand, and the lube in the drawer. 

 

Alec tightened his grip on the headboard, barely breathing as Q pulled his glasses off and set them gently on the nightstand. Alec closed his eye and pressed his face into his bicep, holding in the sound he wanted to make as Q slid into him. 

 

“Alright?”

 

“God, yes. Thank you.” Alec rolled his hips up to meet Q’s body. Half of his control melted away, overwhelmed by the _fucking fantastic_ feeling of Q inside him. The rest of his mind managed to concentrate on moving, on holding his body _just so._ Controlling himself, being tight enough that Q hardened inside him, groaned Alec’s name and pressed open mouthed kisses against Alec’s throat and jaw.

 

“Fuck, Alec...”

 

“Please, more... please Q, I want it.”

 

Q pulled out and shoved Alec, rough and desperate until Alec lay on his side and Q sank back in, one smooth motion pushing deeper, at a completely different angle. Alec let out a harsh, strangled moan. Q’s frantic thrusts dragged the last of Alec’s control from his body and he rolled his neck, straining to breathe in Q’s air. 

 

“Fuck. Fuck, you Alec.” Q’s hand wrapped around Alec’s cock and they both groaned. “Fucking come for me, need to feel you. Come because I’m _fucking_ you.” Q’s lips pressed against Alec’s ear, teeth forming punctuation in Alec’s skin.

 

Alec groaned. “I’m so close, please, Q. I need you too.”

 

“Yes, _fuck_ , yes.” Q pushed Alec’s shoulders forward, bending him over and fucking into him with short sharp thrusts that sent sparks through Alec’s nerves. They stayed balanced like that for an age, and it felt so good Alec didn’t want to come, didn’t want it to be over yet. 

 

Alec’s heart kicked hard in his chest and his body tensed, his orgasm knocked the air from his lungs with a strangled groan. Q fucked him through it, drawing sharp little gasps of pleasure across his nerves every time Q’s cock dragged over Alec’s prostate. Q’s forehead pressed against Alec’s shoulder and Alec pulled himself back from the edge, to feel, to know that he’s given Q pleasure. He groaned again as Q pressed his cock deep and pulled Alec closer. “Yeah?”

 

“God, yes.”

 

Alec let himself be wrapped in Q’s long limbs, legs tangled together and his head resting on Q’s left arm. He pulled Q’s right hand up and kissed Q’s fingers, felt the answering kiss on his shoulder. Q rested his forehead against Alec’s shoulder and Alec savoured the contact. “I don’t want to move ever again.”

 

“Hmm, I think I can arrange a short intermission.” Q’s hand tightened in his, and Alec remembered the press of lips against his shoulder again before sleep reached up and covered him. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the lovely a_xmasmurder... *hugs and smishes*
> 
> All love and honours to LapOtter for the amazing beta job and just general awesomeness.

**Author's Note:**

> Alec/Q is my newest favourite thing... There are still plot bunnies roaming around my brain


End file.
